


i have feelings for you (not telling you which ones)

by shuaesthetic



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, Crack, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Meet-Ugly, Neighbors, mostly 96 and 97 line ensemble, rated T because mingyu has a foul mouth, wonwoo seems like an ass but i swear he's just misunderstood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuaesthetic/pseuds/shuaesthetic
Summary: '"I hate him, oh my God. No wait, I loathe him. I absolutely despise him. I've known him for a day and the mere thought of him makes me want to catapult myself out the window."Minghao nods along, sipping his coffee as Mingyu continues to rant from where he's crashed in Minghao's room, long limbs splayed all over the younger's bed."Of course," Minghao assures understandingly. "I mean, if someone hit me right in the dick with their umbrella, I'd be pretty mad too."'[or, mingyu and wonwoo are neighbours who happen to meet through... unfortunate circumstances. and, no, by no means does mingyu think wonwoo is even the slightest bit attractive, shut up.]
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 27
Kudos: 447





	i have feelings for you (not telling you which ones)

**Author's Note:**

> AAAA HAPPY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEVENTEEN <33 i'm honestly so glad i managed to finish this in time sjhsjdj
> 
> here's an enemies to lovers meanie au that i've been working on :)) i had lots of fun writing this omg
> 
> enjoy !!
> 
> < title is from a tumblr post my friend sent hdjshd >

Mingyu is _late_.

Half an hour late to be exact. He's late to his 9 AM economics lecture that his professor pointedly told him _not_ to miss, or else she'll deduct marks from his final grade. Meaning all those sleepless nights and mental breakdowns he had to endure up until now would be for naught, and he absolutely can't have that.

Which is why he's here now, shoving papers in his backpack as he dodges around unpacked boxes, hair a complete and utter mess, shirt lopsided, and he's pretty sure he's got his jeans on backwards. Not like he has the time to fix it. Unfortunately.

He locks his front door behind him, and is just about to sprint the rest of the way to campus when he trips on his untied shoelace, face-planting on the marble floor so hard he's certain it'll leave a nasty bruise right smack in the middle of his face.

Today is just not his day.

Sighing dejectedly, he kneels down on someone's doorstep, knowing full well there's no point in hurrying when he's already this late. Once he's done tying his shoelaces, he props himself back up again. That is, until his neighbour's door swings open, sending Mingyu toppling backwards as he lets out a shriek so shrill he flushes in embarrassment.

"Oh my God, are you okay?"

Groaning, Mingyu rubs at his sore forehead. He looks up to see a cute boy around his age, wearing a beige sweater way too big for his lean frame, black hair uncombed, circular glasses perched atop his nose and dark eyes wide in surprise. This is all perfectly fine, but now Mingyu's in a terrible mood and the boy is clearly trying — and failing — to stifle his laughter.

"Do you think this is funny?" Mingyu asks disbelievingly, getting up to glare down at the other boy. Who's also apparently his neighbour. In the back of his mind, he wonders how he's never seen him until now, although Mingyu _did_ just move into his current flat only a few days ago.

"Jesus, wait," mystery boy says, another snicker escaping his lips. "Shit, I'm being such a dick right now, but you should have seen your face. You know, when you landed on your ass."

"Yes, of course, it's definitely my pleasure to be the source of your wrongly-placed amusement," Mingyu quips, rolling his eyes as he hoists up his backpack. "If you'll excuse me, I have a class I'm late for."

"Wait, let me make it up to you!" the boy calls out as soon as Mingyu takes his leave. He deliberately ignores the shorter boy, and Mingyu thinks he's doing a great job at giving him the cold shoulder when he trips on his shoelace. _Again_.

At least he didn't land on his face this time.

He hears mystery boy snort from where he's standing a few feet behind him, and Mingyu feels his ears fume red, not looking back as he trudges his way to the elevator, the other boy's giggles still ringing in his ears when he's already halfway to class.

  
  


"The fuck happened to your face?"

Mingyu sighs tiredly, instinctively reaching up to touch the two ugly bruises blossoming on his skin. He's heard this question literally seven times in a span of two hours, and he's really starting to hate his next-door neighbor. Beside him, Seokmin smiles sympathetically, before turning to Minghao, the other boy settling down across from them on their usual lunch table. "This bruise," Seokmin says, lightly tapping at the darkening mark on Mingyu's chin, "is from falling on his face when he tripped this morning."

"And this one," Mingyu continues, pointing at the swelling purple lump on his forehead, "This came to be when my bastard of a neighbor flung his door open as I was kneeling right outside."

Minghao bites his lip, obviously trying not to laugh, before inhaling in a deep breath. "Oh, you poor soul," he tuts, and Mingyu guesses it's supposed to sound comforting, but Minghao's starting to turn red from holding in his laughter and Mingyu wants to whack him.

"And he didn't even apologize!" he exclaims angrily, Seokmin patting his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "I mean, a simple 'sorry' could have worked, but he-"

"He what?" Minghao implores when he cuts himself off, but Mingyu's eyes have drifted from his friends and are now fixed on the figure who just entered into the cafeteria hall, wearing an all-too-familiar oversized beige sweater, obsidian eyes scanning the hall.

"Jesus Christ," Mingyu hisses, and from the corner of his eye he sees his friends try to follow his gaze. "That's _him_. Literally what the hell?"

"Isn't this too much of a coincidence?" he hears Seokmin muse to himself, while Minghao is still trying to pinpoint where exactly Mingyu's staring at. To his surprise, a suspiciously uncharacteristic blush appears on Minghao's cheeks, before the other boy turns away to look back at Mingyu.

"Please tell me you're not talking about the guy wearing a sweater despite it being the middle of March," Minghao says, suddenly paying way too much attention to his food. Mingyu furrows his brows at him.

"Do you know him?" he asks, earning a tiny sigh from the other boy.

Pushing back at his recently dyed brown hair, Minghao says with a seemingly nonchalant wave of his hand, "I, uh, may have had the _tiniest_ crush on Wonwoo before I started dating Junhui. They're both in the same business class." The other boy clears his throat. "It's not that big of a deal really."

No, it is a big deal, and Mingyu finds himself gaping at this newfound information before he could stop himself, sensing Seokmin doing the same. "Wonwoo? Is that his name?" he questions, and Minghao nods.

Mingyu continues to stare at his neighbour, _Wonwoo_ , who's now seated alongside Jihoon, a guy Mingyu knows to be the top in his chemistry class in the year above him, and another boy with a shock of blond hair and slanted eyes. An unfamiliar torrent of emotion spikes in Mingyu's chest.

From across the room, as if he sensed Mingyu's impending gaze, Wonwoo turns to meet his eyes, the shadow of a smile playing at his lips as the other boy offers a curt, civilized nod. As if he didn't just knock Mingyu down with his door and proceeded to laugh at him just hours before. Mingyu blinks, seethes, and mentally flips the other guy off.

"Mingyu?" Seokmin is saying, shaking at his arm. "Aren't you coming?"

Shuttering himself away from his daze, he glances around the room to see everyone else packing up, throwing away the remains of their lunch as they make their way towards their respective classes. The bell must have rung already, and he looks back at his friends, the two boys now staring at him with something along the lines of suspicion and amusement. Mingyu swallows down a dry cough.

"Sorry," he says, trying for a smile. He stands, and the three of them walk alongside each other, Seokmin continuing with his chatter and Minghao throwing in some side comments here and there. Mingyu joins in soon after, waving aside prickling thoughts of fox-like eyes and tousled dark hair.

  
  


Classes have finally ended for the day, and Mingyu is just about to head for home and crash into the mattress on his floor he calls a bed when it starts raining. Heavily. Which makes no sense, because Mingyu swears the sun was scorching the roads outside just an hour before.

Sighing, Mingyu casts his eyes skyward. 

Begrudgingly making his way towards the front doors, he's debating whether he should make a run for it when something hits him square in the crotch. _Hard_.

The pain is instant. He rasps out a groan, immediately doubling over in agony, wanting nothing more but to curl up in a ball as the pain seeps past his legs and into his stomach. The throbbing lingers, incapacitating his entire body for a moment, and Mingyu bitterly looks up from where he's crouched on the floor to see what the everliving fuck just happened.

He immediately wishes he didn't.

Out of all the people in this damned college, _Wonwoo_ is standing over him, an opened umbrella in one hand and the other covering the way his lips part open as he gasps in surprise. Biting back a growl, Mingyu slowly gets up, a flood of déjà vu rushing over him.

"I- I'm sorry," Wonwoo stammers, and Mingyu thinks the other boy's scared, regretful even, for a split-second, before noticing the infuriating way Wonwoo's lips twitch upwards as he obviously tries to fight the smile demanding to show on his face.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Mingyu snarls, and Wonwoo has the audacity to look surprised.

"What?" he asks incredulously, staring back at Mingyu, and something like annoyance or adrenaline swells deep inside his chest. "I'm not that big of a jerk to do something like that, you know. I _did_ apologize, didn't I?"

Mingyu rolls his eyes, huffing out a laugh. "Yeah, sure you did," he snips back, and is just about to leave before he does anything he'll regret to that outrageous asshole when said outrageous asshole tightly latches on to his wrist. Turning his head, Mingyu stares at the other boy, then at Wonwoo's hand holding on to his wrist, then back to Wonwoo again. He feels his cheeks flush in anger.

Wonwoo seems to realize this, quickly letting go of his grasp and brushing the hair out of his eyes. "Uh, sorry," he says, and Mingyu continues to stare.

"Okay," he drawls. "Can I go now? Unless..." A tiny smirk creeps to the edges of Mingyu's lips. "You wanna confess your love to me or something?"

He smiles in satisfaction as Wonwoo's jaw drops open, the slightest hint of a blush apparent on his cheeks, but then Mingyu blinks and it's gone as sudden as it appeared, replaced with an aggravating sparkle in the other boy's eyes that makes his blood boil.

"Thanks, but no. I'm not into guys with an ego bigger than their dick," Wonwoo says coolly, and Mingyu watches, irked, as the shorter boy raises a single composed eyebrow. "And no offense, but you literally have the sex appeal of a business transaction." With that being said, Wonwoo holds his umbrella above his head, walking out into the street, looking back only once to throw Mingyu a coy grin.

"Have fun getting drenched in this rain, Mingyu."

Maybe if Mingyu wasn't so focused on hurling profanities at the other boy in his head, he would have realized how he's never told Wonwoo his name.

  
  


"I hate him, oh my God. No wait, I _loathe_ him. I absolutely despise him. I've known him for a day and the mere thought of him makes me want to catapult myself out the window."

Minghao nods along, sipping his coffee as Mingyu continues to rant from where he's crashed in Minghao's room, long limbs splayed all over the younger's bed.

"Of course," Minghao assures understandingly. "I mean, if someone hit me right in the dick with their umbrella, I'd be pretty mad too."

Propping himself on his elbows, Mingyu turns to look at the other boy, before sighing and plopping back down on the bed. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

The other boy merely offers a smile. "Too bad you guys are neighbours."

Mingyu groans into a nearby pillow, releasing out his recently developed frustrations because just _why_ was he damned with the misfortune of having someone like the dick that is Jeon Wonwoo for a neighbour.

"You know what I hate even more about him? Apparently, he has a cat. A cat that leaves it's litter all over my doormat. I mean, I was running back to my flat earlier, soaking wet, only to be greeted with the sight of cat shit all over my new mat."

"How do you know it's his cat, though?" Minghao questions sceptically, putting aside his cup of coffee, before crossing his legs again and leaning back into his armchair. Mingyu scowls.

" _Because,_ " he tells Minghao. "I asked around and he's literally the only one with a cat on our floor." The other boy hums in comprehension, and Mingyu pauses for a second before flashing Minghao the most desperate, innocent look he could muster. "Can I please move in with you, Hao?"

"Yeah, no," the other boy deadpans, and Mingyu sighs.

"Right, because you and Jun hyung having sex nearly every night will do nothing but traumatize me."

Minghao purposely ignores him, instead gently saying, "You know, Wonwoo isn't as bad as you make him out to be, Gyu." When Mingyu glances dubiously at him, the younger boy continues.

"Look, I get what you're saying here, but Wonwoo's not a bad person. And no, I'm not saying this because I liked him before. As far as I know from Jun, Wonwoo's pretty nice. He's smart, and he keeps more to himself, but he's apparently pretty great once you get to know him," Minghao says, and Mingyu frowns. "Maybe you should give him another chance."

"Over my dead body," he grumbles, and Minghao exhales a breath, getting up to lightly smack Mingyu with his pillow.

  
  


It's nearing 10 in the evening when Mingyu comes back home from Minghao's place, but luckily for him, he doesn't have to go to class tomorrow, meaning he can finally catch up on some much needed sleep.

Once he's inside the quiet of his home, he immediately traipses towards his bathroom, turning on the tap to let the hot water flow into his bathtub. He then switches on his phone while he waits, scrolling past his notifications to catch up on unread messages, until he gets to the last message from Seokmin.

Today **9:51 pm**

**_seokmin_ **

> _are you still onboard with movie night monday or is now not a good time_

_ > you haven't replied in 5 minutes i'm omw rn _

_ > and i've got nachos and popcorn _

_ > so if you have some important test tomorrow then yikes?_

Mingyu smiles to himself, having nearly forgotten about his shared tradition with Seokmin of binge-watching movies every Monday night, since the two of them don't have any classes the next morning.

He figures he could unwind a bit before Seokmin arrives, so once he's done picking out a playlist — a Red Velvet one, because Mingyu truly does believe in the power of girl groups — he sets the volume to the maximum, then hops into his bathtub, letting out a contented sigh when the water warms his tired body.

Only two songs have played when a loud knocking is heard from outside his door. He reluctantly gets up, his body immediately missing the warmth, and wraps a towel around his waist. _It must be Seokmin,_ he thinks to himself, because who else will be knocking on his door this late in the night? Turning his key, he swings the door open for the other boy to come in.

He did _not_ expect Wonwoo to be standing right outside, hand hovering in the air as a rose-pink hue seers through his cheeks, the other boy eyeing him up and down in shock. Belatedly, Mingyu realizes he should have at least put on some clothes, and he feels his face flame to the color of a bad sunburn.

"Do you need something?" he asks in false cockiness, because Mingyu is starting to feel _very_ self-conscious with the way Wonwoo's staring at him. He'd rather die than let Wonwoo know that though, and he raises his chin in fake arrogance.

Snapping his eyes upwards to meet Mingyu's gaze and not his chest, Wonwoo snorts, yet Mingyu doesn't fail to notice the rosiness in the shorter boy's cheeks that gives away his air of confidence.

"Yes, actually," he says, staring hard into Mingyu's eyes. "I don't know if it's because you're new here or what, but this apartment has extremely thin walls. So I'm over here, trying to study for the biology test I have tomorrow, but you're blasting 'Bad Boy' at full volume and I'm starting to get pissed."

"Oh, so you're pissed, you say?" Mingyu provokes, folding his arms and leaning on the doorway. "Just today, you threw me down with your door, propelled an umbrella at my _dick_ , and I came home, tired and wet from running in the rain, only to see your cat's shit all over my doormat. But no, _you're_ pissed."

A flash of hurt flickers on Wonwoo's face, and Mingyu's heart clenches, before immediately scolding himself for it.

"Hey, I never wanted all those to happen," Wonwoo says in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry for today and you can continue hating me or whatever. Just… please lower down your music? This test is really important and I can't afford failing it."

Mingyu's eyes soften in it's own accord, just the tiniest of fractions, and he sighs. "Yeah, okay," he mumbles, and there's a stinging flutter in the confines of his ribs when Wonwoo smiles at him.

"Thanks," the other boy breathes out. He looks at Mingyu one more time, then walks back to his own flat, shutting the door behind him.

Seokmin arrives just minutes later, screaming in horror when he spots Mingyu because he's _still_ outside, a mere towel wrapped around his naked body.

///

The next time he runs into Wonwoo — almost a week later on a Friday afternoon — is purely an accidental coincidence and an utter mistake on Mingyu's part.

In all honesty, he's been having another one of his terrible days, having gone downhill the moment he realizes he's forgotten one of his essays on his kitchen's countertop. Of course, by the time he made that realization, he hadn’t had time to go back for it without being late for class.

After that, his professor decided it would be a great idea for a pop quiz, one Mingyu's certain he thoroughly and completely flopped. Then he was reminded of an accounting presentation due in a week that he's nowhere near started, and Mingyu was an eyelash away from ramming his head on his desk.

All in all, a pretty shitty day.

Which is exactly why he decides to stop by a café after classes. There’s a new one that’s popped up a few blocks away from his apartment, just a walk away from campus, and the cakes displayed by the window look absolutely heavenly, moist vanilla cakes and rich chocolate brownies that get Mingyu drooling every time he passes by.

So he saunters in after little deliberation, reaching for a menu and finding an empty seat. He's so engrossed in checking out the glossy pictures decorating the laminated sheet that he startles and nearly falls out of his chair when he hears someone say, “Are you ready to order?”

And when he looks up at the waiter, the excited smile he's stupidly got on abruptly slides off his face.

" _You,_ " he spits out with a scowl. He's taken back to the week before, and suddenly his faded bruises are a fresh painful bloom across his face. When the bastard looming over him with his dumb smile and dumb glasses throws him a crooked grin, Mingyu thinks his blood pressure spikes by roughly another hundred degrees.

"Mingyu," Wonwoo greets, easy and casual like they're _friends_ , and Mingyu feels his scowl deepen.

Usually, he can hold his behavior in public just fine, but looking up at Wonwoo like this, a glint in his glasses that's been haunting Mingyu's current raging dreams, he wonders if he's up for it.

 _The cake,_ he tells himself. He also reminds himself that he's an _adult_ now, not the same reckless kid he was before, and with that final reminder he forces his eyes upwards. 

"Why are you here?" he asks, but all Wonwoo does is arch a single perfect eyebrow at his glare, that goddamn smile growing just the tiniest bit more.

"I mean," the other boy starts slowly, glancing at him with unconcealed amusement dancing deep in his eyes. He gestures at his uniform, and Mingyu very pointedly refuses to look at how Wonwoo's arms look barely hidden by the thin, nearly translucent material of his dress shirt. "I work here. So I’m obligated to ask if you need more time, but I've already waited over ten minutes before coming over. If you haven’t figured out what you want by now, I kindly ask for you to stop loitering around and leave."

"You'd be fired before you know it if you keep that attitude up, sweetheart," Mingyu bites back, lips in a curl as his eyes slice at the other boy. Much to his surprise, Wonwoo _blushes_. But then the expression morphs into an all too smug smile, and Mingyu finds himself breathing out a silent sigh of relief. Wonwoo almost looked cute. That could have been a disaster.

With a light slam of his hand on the tabletop, Wonwoo lowers himself until they're almost eye-to-eye. He's smiling, and this close Mingyu can almost make out the tiny flecks of gold in his eyes hidden behind his glasses. It's kinda mesmerizing, he thinks dumbly, before immediately berating himself for the thought and narrowing his eyes defiantly at the other boy, challenging him.

"I'll make sure to kick that pretty ass of yours before that happens," Wonwoo mutters. His breath is hot against Mingyu's skin, an almost-there curve on his lips. He straightens his back, and the action is a relentless grate to Mingyu's nerves.

As if nothing happened, he asks, "So, what can I get for you today?" in an awfully cheerful tone that makes Mingyu want to walk out and never see the guy's face ever again. Ending up in jail for homicide is nowhere near his bucket list, after all.

But his stomach says otherwise, grumbling like a fucking earthquake, and he huffs out a breath. He tries for a smile, because he's a civilized adult who's perfectly mature when it comes to dealing with less-than-pleasant people, and he says, "I'll have the blueberry cheesecake." And then, his grimace of a smile turning unbelievably strained, he adds, "Please."

"Anything else?" Wonwoo questions in that same annoying tone. Mingyu has to fight back the increasing desire to slam him against the closest hard surface. 

Looking up at the other boy with his lips in a thin line, he says, "An iced Americano could work too."

Wonwoo nods, juts down another few words in his notepad, and with one final smile flashed at him, he turns on his heel and leaves.

Mingyu wonders how much more he can take before something in him snaps.

As Wonwoo walks away, Mingyu hesitates for a brief second, before pulling out his phone. After glancing around to make sure that no one's looking, he clicks a quick photo of the bespectacled boy in hopes of getting some blackmail material, only for Wonwoo to bend over at that exact moment to pick up a dropped napkin.

Mingyu turns the phone back towards him, and feels his cheeks burn dangerously warm all too fast. 

Of course, the picture comes out a bit blurry, but it's clear enough for Mingyu to see the distinct curve of Wonwoo's ass and the way his jeans cling to his thighs _right there_ in plain sight.

He clicks the little trash can on the corner, before pausing. Hesitantly, he chooses not to delete it, turning off his phone and coughing into his fist.

Just because Wonwoo's got a horrible personality doesn't mean Mingyu can't appreciate the view.

Said waiter walks towards him just a mere few moments later, placing his order down on the table. He's got a smile faker than the little plastic cross he's got dangling from his ear. _Oh that's new_ , Mingyu thinks to himself. Not that he's been paying attention, of course not.

"Here's your order," Wonwoo says with feigned politeness, bringing Mingyu back to reality. Leaning closer, he whispers right into Mingyu's ear and effectively making goosebumps rise from his skin, "And, just for your information, I've got ninety-six percent customer satisfaction." He holds up six fingers. Mingyu has to resist the ever-growing urge to scoff. "Ninety-six."

"You sure it isn't just six percent?" he asks, and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. Mingyu wants to roll his face. 

The thought makes him feel the tiniest bit better.

" _Ninety_ -six," Wonwoo enunciates, a smug smirk creeping up his face. It makes Mingyu's left eye tick. With one, final nod of his head and a wink shooted at Mingyu's direction, Wonwoo does a swift 180 and walks away.

Which is good. Perfectly fine. If he'd stayed for any longer, Mingyu's sure he might have stabbed his fork through Wonwoo's side.

He sighs, taking a sip from his coffee and banging his head against the table.

  
  


He's not sure how, but his day only continues to grow worse, what with him stirring from his sleep later that night when he hears a loud _thud_ , followed by a series of grumbles and a litany of profanities muttered right outside his door.

He grunts out an annoyed little groan, rolling over his mattress and peeking at the digital clock perched beside him. _2:37 am._

 _Okay, what the fuck_ , he thinks groggily, sitting up and rubbing the much needed sleep away from his eyes. Who could that be so early in the morning?

Somewhere in the corner of his head, a loud voice is telling him that he shouldn't bother, that he should just go the fuck back to sleep and ignore whoever's swearing up a storm on the other side of the wall. But when he hears what he thinks might be papers rustling, followed by another curse, he decides to confront what he assumes is his neighbour in a refined manner like any other normal person instead of flipping them off in his head.

He props himself up, pinpricks of color dancing in his eyes when he does it a little too quickly, and throws a pair of sweats over his boxers. Running a hand through his hair, Mingyu heaves a sigh, before faking what he hopes is a smile and cracking the door open. 

Not for the first time that day, he feels the smile he's got on wipe off his face when his gaze lands on a pair of _very_ familiar brown eyes.

Wonwoo looks like a deer caught in headlights, almost stupid really, with the way the other boy is crouched on the floor, rummaging through his backpack with a handful of papers strewn at his side. With a tiny jolt, Mingyu notes the dark rings under his eyes, something he hasn't seen until now, heavy and pronounced and made clearer beneath the guise of Wonwoo's glasses. There's a creak in his knees when Wonwoo stands up, stumbling and leaning against the wall for support. Somehow though, he still finds the energy to jut his chin out at him, despite looking like he might collapse any second. Mingyu frowns, eyeing him sceptically.

"What are you doing?" he finally asks after an uncomfortable second of silence, motioning towards the miscellany of objects on his welcome mat. "Is this like, a prank you're planning on me or something?"

Wonwoo seems to shift back to reality at that, a sigh escaping him, shoulders slumping as he shakes his head. "Sorry if I woke you up," he says, actually sounding _genuine_. He gathers up his things off of the floor, meeting Mingyu's gaze with a titled smile. It's kinda off though, his usual snark gone, and Mingyu isn't too sure how to react. "I couldn't find my house key."

"Oh." Mingyu blinks. He's still barely awake, and it's taking him a little too long for him to grasp the situation at hand, which is exactly why he finds himself letting his guard down. He opens his mouth to say something, when a new thought plants itself in his head and he hears himself asking instead, "Wait, were you at work this whole time? You've only gotten home now?"

Raising a brow, the other boy stares at him warily, lips dipping down at the corners. He looks around with suspicious eyes, like there might be some hidden cameras somewhere because there's the hints of concern in Mingyu's tone that they both know all too well is breaching unfamiliar territory. But Wonwoo gives in in the end, sucking in a sharp inhale through his nose.

"I went to the library after my shift ended, to study for this test I have in a few days. Guess I left my keys back in the café though, because I can't find them _anywhere,_ " Wonwoo tells him, voice coming out in a whine. Mingyu wonders if he's doing it on purpose. To test him maybe, or to drive him over the edge. And then, face scrunching as he stifles a yawn, Wonwoo groans out, "I'm so _tired_ , fuck."

And because Mingyu is still barely awake, with his guard already far, far down, he feels himself opening his door by another inch. "Do you, uh… " he starts, but can't seem to continue, and Wonwoo furrows his brows. Mingyu wonders why the _fuck_ his ears feel so hot. 

He swallows thickly, opening his door all the way. "Do you wanna stay at my place for the night?" he asks in one swift breath. He doesn't realize what his words could imply until it leaves his mouth, and he feels himself blush a dangerous shade of red. Wonwoo must have noticed too, what with the way a blush starts to paint high on his cheekbones, and Mingyu is quick to assure, "Just for tonight. Since you don't have your keys and all."

Wonwoo peers into his flat for a moment, and Mingyu follows his gaze. It's not like he's ashamed of his living space or anything; his apartment is clean for the most part, just a couple more unpacked boxes pushed against a corner. The other boy drifts his gaze back to him then, crossing his arms with squinted eyes. "What's in it for me?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mingyu snorts, rolling his eyes. "A place to sleep?"

A pause. And then, lowering his eyes even more, Wonwoo asks, "Why are you being nice to me?"

Mingyu has to resist the itch to snarl. "Don't let it get to your head, sunshine," he scowls. "I'm not being _nice,_ I'm being decent. So would you rather sleep on my doormat or get your cute little ass inside already?"

Wonwoo blinks, once, then twice. It's infuriating. Even more so, when a sideways smile starts to creep on his face. He tilts his head. "You think my ass is cute?"

Fucking hell. This isn't happening. They're probably just sleep-deprived. Yeah, that must be it. They're so far out of their heads they're actually having a somewhat… tolerable conversation.

But it isn't tolerable enough, and Mingyu lifts one hand in a little wave as the other finds the doorknob. "Well then," he starts pleasantly, already closing the door. "You're being a dick again, so I guess I'll just leave you to it. Goodnight."

His door is a single inch from shutting completely and forgetting this whole encounter ever happened when Wonwoo shoves his leg in, yelping a little when Mingyu accidentally rams into his foot. Once again, he cracks open his door, just enough for him to peek through the thin opening and watch the other boy clutch onto his foot, hopping on one leg.

"Wait, oh my God," Wonwoo hisses. "I didn't say no." Placing his foot down, he adds, albeit a bit reluctantly as he meets Mingyu's gaze through the crack, "It'd be… nice, if I could stay over. Thanks. You know, for offering."

Mingyu lifts an unimpressed brow, fervently paying absolutely no attention to the thud somewhere in his chest. "That's that, then," he says with a final nod of his head, and further steeling his resolve, he invites Wonwoo in.

Wonwoo steps inside after seemingly weighing his nonexistent options, cautious and tense, as if something would jump out into the open and onto him if he isn't careful. Mingyu huffs out a silent scoff.

The other boy looks around for a few moments, though there isn't much to see. Like most college students, Mingyu is tragically broke, having just gotten lucky with this apartment from the years he's spent saving up money and the handfuls of bills his parents left for him before leaving for Seoul. There's a conjoined kitchen and living room fit for a single person, with a bathroom and a bedroom off to the side. There's some pieces of furniture here and there too — a couch, an armchair, a couple of drawers and cabinets — and framed pictures of him, Seokmin, and Minghao hanging on the walls from when they were younger. Mingyu, however, doesn't realize the bigger problem until Wonwoo points it out.

"So, um," he starts, scratching the nape of his neck. He's hesitant, Mingyu realizes. Almost _shy._ It's kinda funny, how Wonwoo isn't acting like a total dick, but Mingyu can't bring it in him to laugh, especially when the other boy says, "Where will I… you know… " He trails off, face tinting pink, and he makes a vague hand gesture that could honestly mean anything. 

"Where will you what?" Mingyu asks, feeling his lips twitch downwards. "I don't know what _this-"_ he makes the same vague hand gesture, "-means."

Wonwoo puffs out his cheeks, pointedly avoiding Mingyu's stare, until finally, he asks, "Where will I sleep?"

Oh. "That's it?" Mingyu questions back disbelievingly. Wonwoo looked so _scandalized,_ and he finds himself having to bite back a smile. His eyes flit to the side for a second, clearing his throat. "The couch is kinda small, and I'm not that big of an ass to let you sleep there when you look like some half-dead zombie, so you can crash in my room if that's fine. On the floor, though." Mingyu flashes him his sweetest smile then, earning a narrowed glare from the other that nearly makes him laugh. "Because I'm not nice enough for someone I barely know to sleep on my bed."

"That's okay," Wonwoo replies breezily, plopping his bag on the floor. "I wouldn't want to sleep in a bed that belongs to someone I barely know anyway."

"Now listen here, you ungrateful shit-"

"Where's the bathroom?" Wonwoo asks, cutting him off and throwing him an innocent smile that makes Mingyu want to whack the living daylights out of him. "I've got some spare clothes I wanna change into."

Mingyu grits his teeth. He might actually bust a blood vessel. "First door on the left."

Another innocent smile. He's really starting to hate himself for this. "Thanks, Gyu," Wonwoo says, and just like that he walks off, disappearing round the corner. Which is most definitely a good thing, because Mingyu might just fling the other boy out the door if he keeps acting so awfully obnoxious. When that happens, then Mingyu really can't make any promises for his behavior.

He sighs again, probably the tenth time since he's woken up, and hunts for the futon he's learned to have in hand due to Minghao and Seokmin crashing at his place more times than he could even count.

Hurling it down onto the floor beside his bed, he hears the bathroom door creak open, already feeling the surge of annoyance washing over him when Wonwoo breathes in his direction. He straightens his back, taking in the sight of Wonwoo in a fresh pair of sweats and an oversized white shirt. When the other boy's lips start to form the beginning of a small, vexing smile, Mingyu thinks his blood vessel actually _does_ burst.

"You'll be sleeping here," he says instead, keeping his voice level. Grabbing for an extra pillow and blanket from his cupboard, he shoves it down on Wonwoo's arms. "And you can take these too."

Wonwoo sniffs — actually _sniffs_ , the fucking audacity — the duvet, nose wrinkling in distaste as he holds it as far away as his arm lets him, pinching the material between two fingers. "You haven't washed these recently, have you?" he questions accusingly. Mingyu feels another vessel pop.

"Look, do you want to sleep here or not?" he asks again, just borderline exasperated at this point. "Because I swear, if one more complaint comes out of your mouth then-"

He's cut off mid-sentence when Wonwoo lightly places a finger on his lips, a tentative, apologetic grin playing on his face. Mingyu feels his cheeks flame. Who does this guy think he is?

"Okay, okay, I get it," Wonwoo is saying, pulling his finger away and raising his hands up defensively. "I'm sorry for complaining, if that makes you feel better."

Mingyu doesn't reply, too busy calming himself down. The tick in his left eye is back.

Instead, he watches as the other boy plops down on the futon, carefully prepping up the pillow and tucking his glasses beside it. Wonwoo smiles up at him then, but Mingyu can't bring himself to scowl.

"So," Wonwoo starts, mussing up his hair. His eyes, Mingyu notes stupidly as Wonwoo's next words are lost to his ears, are clearer now without his glasses on. Kinda… pretty.

Oh God. He did _not_ just think that.

This must be the sleep-deprivation getting to him, he realizes in horror. He's so intent on shoving that thought away to the deepest, darkest crevice of his mind that he nearly misses the way Wonwoo's staring hard at him, the shadow of a perfect little amused smile passing over his lips.

This time, Mingyu _does_ scowl. "What are you staring at me for?"

" _Me?"_ Wonwoo huffs incredulously. "You were the one staring."

"Fucking Christ. You're impossible."

"Yeah, well, you're _insufferable_."

Mingyu glowers, feels a growl escape him, and his glare must have come across as more intense than he intended, because Wonwoo immediately backtracks, a hand flying to his mouth as he pleads innocence. He clears his throat. "Insufferable, yes, but also very, _very_ nice for letting me sleep over," he says in a sickly sweet tone. Wonwoo winks, and oops, there goes another blood vessel. "So, um, thanks and everything. And goodnight, I guess."

He plunks himself down on his pillow and spins away from him before Mingyu has the luxury to even say anything. With Wonwoo's back now turned to him, Mingyu fakes a kick to the other boy's head, before releasing a long-held breath. He dives into his bed, grabs for a pillow, buries his face in it, and silently screams at the universe for being so unfair.

He tries to sleep. Tries to get his heart to beat at a more bearable pace. A few feet away from him, he hears Wonwoo let out a soft, sleepy sigh.

There's a few things about his neighbour that Mingyu learns that night, although he's not sure if he's better off _not_ knowing, or what exactly he should do with such information.

The first thing he notices about Wonwoo is that he _needs_ to hug something to fall asleep no matter how tired he is, even going as far as to shake Mingyu awake for another pillow after a whole 20 minutes later.

The second thing is that Wonwoo snores. It's quiet though, barely there, but still audible enough for Mingyu to find it much harder to drift back to sleep now than before.

The third thing is that Wonwoo's an early riser. Because by the time Mingyu wakes up again a few hours later at 7 o'clock sharp, Wonwoo's already gone.

///

"I think it's destiny," Minghao is telling him, once Mingyu had recounted last night's events to both him and Seokmin. They're at Seokmin's dorm today, it's a nice Saturday evening, and Mingyu can already feel the tiny headache that's about to occur when Minghao finishes that train of thought. "Trust me. Somewhere down the road, you'll fall in love, get butterflies in your stomach, and feel your heart flutter helplessly at the mere thought of him. It's gonna be this whole tingly sensation you'll feel all over every time he's with you. I'm already calling it."

"Stop projecting your weird fantasies onto me," Mingyu rolls his eyes, clicking his tongue. "Besides, I really, absolutely, don't like him. He's an asshole." He pauses, before saying, "There's something about him that pisses me off."

Seokmin smirks, looking up from his phone. "You sure it isn't just, I don't know, some unresolved sexual tension?"

"Gross," Mingyu groans, lightly kicking the other boy with his foot. "You guys jump to the most insane conclusions. I need new friends."

"You're not fully denying it, though?" Seokmin says with a lopsided grin, prodding at his side. Mingyu's never been one for violence, but now he fights back the urge to knock him right on the head.

"I _don't_ like him," he insists. "Have you even seen the guy? He's got the personality of a cabbage!"

"Cabbages could be pretty interesting too!" Seokmin defends, and Minghao nearly chokes on his drink from trying not to snort.

"Okay, okay, all of you shut up and listen," Minghao interrupts, once he's recovered from his coughing fit. Turning to Mingyu, he says with an intent stare, "Wonwoo _really_ isn't this asshole you think of him to be, Gyu. I know I've said it before, but he really, legitimately is a nice person."

Mingyu scowls. "Then why's he always acting like such a dick when I'm around?"

Shrugging, Minghao says, "That's probably on you." And then, his eyes softening, he adds, "But seriously though. You should talk to the guy sometime. And by talk, I mean sitting down with him over a hot cup of coffee and having a long, nice chat over where it all went wrong with the both of you, and not just hurling insults at each other's faces." 

There's that certain downward pull on the corners of Mingyu's lips when he hears that, partly because it's ridiculous for Minghao to say anything even remotely serious when there's droplets of cola dripping down his chin, and partly because he refuses to take anything Minghao says seriously when the other boy is draped over the loveseat in just his boxers. A fist gently nudges at his shoulder. "I'm serious. I mean, Junhui and I didn't always get along like we do now."

"Of course," Mingyu drones. "I know full well how _great_ you and Jun hyung get along." Seokmin chokes back a little giggle at that, and Minghao swings a pillow at the both of them.

"Fine then," he says with a childish huff, folding his arms over his chest. "But if you find yourself trapped in _feelings_ and all that, then that's entirely your fault."

Mingyu shakes his head, but it's more fond than exasperated and he's sure the other boy knows it too. "Don't worry," he says, a slight curve to his lips. "I won't."

///

It's on a Tuesday morning when everything goes very wrong, very fast.

He's in the library, working on that accounting presentation last-minute, when he feels the chair beside him creak, an awfully familiar gray backpack sliding down the seat.

Two empty seats to his left. Three on his right. Six across from him. Mingyu doesn't like where this is going.

He makes a point not to look up, refusing to acknowledge the presence hunching over him a mere couple of centimetres away. He knows that if he _does_ look up, he'll only be greeted with the sight of those godforsaken pretty brown eyes behind those stupid circular glasses that only continues to torment his thoughts with each passing day.

Mingyu thinks he's doing a pretty good job for about twenty seconds when he hears Wonwoo heave out a light sigh, the other boy stubbornly plopping down beside him.

"Hi," he starts, raising his hand in a small wave. Mingyu keeps his eyes trained on his laptop. Another sigh escapes Wonwoo's lips, and he scoots closer until he's suddenly _too_ close and Mingyu has to remind himself to breathe.

Wonwoo tries again, annoyingly persistent. "Are you free later? For lunch, maybe?"

There's an edge of hopefulness in his tone, and this time Mingyu does avert his gaze to the boy beside him, albeit a bit warily. "You're acting weird," he finally says. He tries not to glare, but there's no denying the slight lowering of his eyes when the words leave Wonwoo's lips. "You've got a fever or something?"

"I- What?" Wonwoo shakes his head. "No, I just… " He drifts off, biting his lip, before continuing, "I just wanted to thank you. For the other night. And, uh-" He swallows thickly this time, and Mingyu tries not to stare, "-I wanted to apologize."

Mingyu shuts his eyes. Takes a deep breath. He could swear he feels something wet trickling out his ear. Oh God, this must be his brain leaking from trying to piece everything together.

Fluttering his eyes back open, he trails his gaze upwards to see Wonwoo staring at him. Mingyu purses his lips. "Can't you just do it here?"

His words must have come out harsher than he wanted it to, because Wonwoo visibly winces, and Mingyu absolutely cannot help the stab of guilt that punches at his stomach. Loosening the tension in his shoulders, he quickly adds, "I mean, won't it be easier to just get it over with?"

"I know, but-" Wonwoo hesitates, and then makes this weird gesture with both hands that's absolutely incomprehensible to Mingyu's eyes. "Just… do you have any plans later?"

Frankly, Mingyu's schedule is utterly empty to the point where it's almost pathetic, but he can't have Wonwoo knowing that, so he pretends to think for a few seconds. Once he's certain sufficient time has passed, he says, although a bit dubiously, "No, I guess I don't."

Wonwoo brightens at this, but Mingyu can tell it's straining him. "Join me for lunch then?" he asks. "My treat."

Almost instantly, Mingyu feels his hands fly to wrap around his torso,, his suspicions only increasing at the other boy's words. It's way too stiff, too scripted, too fake. He leans back on his chair, as if to escape Wonwoo's unusual eagerness.

"What's the catch?" he asks outright, arms in a defensive cage around him. A strangled whine slips from Wonwoo's lips.

"There's no catch," he promises. "Really."

Mingyu drums his fingers idly against the table, looking from Wonwoo to his laptop, then at Wonwoo again. And then, hesitantly, he says, "Okay."

The smile threatening to break on Wonwoo's face is absolutely stupid and by no means does Mingyu feel his stupid little heart flutter. He'd rather die than have that happen.

"Okay," Wonwoo repeats, already getting up. The smile is still on his face. This is bad. "Where do you want to go?"

Mingyu feigns thinking at the question, when really there's a certain blueberry cheesecake that he's been literally _dreaming_ to taste again for days on end now, so he says after little thought, "The café you work at."

Wonwoo's smile turns wary. "Seriously?" he asks. "I just got back from my early morning shift, and now I have to go there again?"

"Yes seriously," Mingyu deadpans, shutting off his laptop and cramming it in his bag. So much for that accounting presentation. He lifts his gaze back up to meet the other's eyes, lifting a defiant brow. "Unless it's too much for you?"

"No, no," Wonwoo assures, too quickly. Mingyu hides a smile. "It's not too much." He picks up his bag then, grinning in strange tentativeness, "Let's go?"

They arrive at the café in record time, mostly because Mingyu quite literally _strides_ to get there as quickly as possible. One reason for this is because, obviously, the cake. The second, more vexing reason however, is because Wonwoo's eyes are sparkling and his smile is twinkling ever since they left the library, and it's enough for Mingyu's heart to be doing all these maddening jumping jacks in his chest.

It's alarming, to say the least.

And, it's also enough to leave him anxious in a way that gets him walking briskly against the sidewalk in a fruitless attempt to somehow slip away from Wonwoo's unsettling enthusiasm. Which turns out to be a terrible idea, Mingyu notes, because only now is he realizing how long Wonwoo's legs are.

They don't talk much on the way there. Naturally. So Mingyu's left with his thoughts, wondering what on earth this thing he's got with Wonwoo is called. They're not enemies, because that's way too childish and Mingyu is an _adult_. But it's not a grudge either, or a rivalry. It's more like a prickling, unnerving disturbance. It makes his palms sweat.

So he's here now, wiping his hands against the fabric of his jeans inconspicuously, praying Wonwoo wouldn't notice from where he's sitting across from him. They've already ordered — that glorious blueberry cheesecake for Mingyu and a strawberry one for Wonwoo. Mingyu was naive enough to think things are going smoother than he expected it to, only for a swirling black cloud of nervous tension to descend in their midst the second their server leaves the table.

"So… " Wonwoo starts in a horrible effort to begin a conversation. Shit, this is too awkward. "How are you?"

 _Fucking excellent, you asshole_. Mingyu would glare if he wanted to, if he _could,_ but for some strange reason, he finds himself biting back the words. He doesn't mean it as much anymore.

He must have been quiet for far too long, because Wonwoo releases a slight exhale. 

"Sorry," he says, glancing up sheepishly. This is weird. Very weird. His voice doesn’t sound quite like Mingyu is used to it sounding, and it gives him the feeling he really doesn’t want to know why. "I kinda forced you into this, didn't I?"

Mingyu tries to be the bigger person here. "It's… alright, I guess. I wouldn't say yes if I didn't mean it. Christ, what kind of person do you think I am?"

He meant it as a joke more than anything, but Wonwoo throws him a coy smile. "An ass," he says easily, and, ah, there it is. That's more like the tone Mingyu's gotten so used to hearing. But Wonwoo says it too fast, and something about that digs right into Mingyu's gut.

There's another round of uncomfortable silence after that. It's frustrating, because usually Mingyu would have a retort ready at the tip of his tongue, but he seems to be swallowing back all his words today. 

He can feel Wonwoo watching him. Clearly the other boy doesn't know what being discreet is like. So Mingyu lets his gaze wander around the café a bit, at the gleaming chandeliers and the pastel pictures printed on the walls, until finally, his eyes land on another waiter not far off from his seat. He feels Wonwoo follow.

The boy looks familiar, but Mingyu can't quite put his finger on it. He's pretty too, eyes bright and smile kind as he notes down orders.

He can almost hear the way Wonwoo smirks. "That's Joshua," the other boy tells him. "He's off-limits, by the way. Already dating another one of my coworkers, Jeonghan, so don't even think about it." 

By some miracle or two, Mingyu suppresses the need to scoff. "I wasn't planning anything of that sort, dumbass. I was just thinking-" he waves a hand at Joshua's general direction, pointedly staring at Wonwoo, "-now _that's_ how you treat your customers. You don't go around threatening them and saying you'll kick their asses out."

Wonwoo rolls his eyes, although, weirdly enough, there's barely any malice in the action. "That was just you. And plus, I've got ninety-six percent customer satisfaction, remember?"

Mingyu, in fact, would rather not remember. He crosses his arms indignantly. "Yeah, well, that's just because you're hot."

The world freezes.

Oh no. Oh fuck. He didn't just say that.

Everything is silent for a heartbeat, as if the universe is kindly putting itself on hold to give Mingyu a moment to fully contemplate exactly how much he just messed up.

Why did he say that? He certainly didn't mean to say it. Things start moving again, but in slow motion, and Mingyu reluctantly looks up to meet the other boy's stare.

Wonwoo's eyes widen almost comically instantly, faltering as his cheeks are kissed pink, the blooming color vivid against the usually pale skin. It's almost endearing.

Almost.

And Mingyu can feel his arms go limp, pulse racing as Wonwoo's normal arrogance is replaced with a blaze on the other boy's face and his eyes darting everywhere except on him. 

Like some angel or another, Joshua swoops in at that exact moment, carefully placing their tray of orders on the table and thankfully interrupting Wonwoo's next words. He glances between the two of them, at Wonwoo's flushed cheeks and Mingyu's avoiding gaze, like their reactions are some sort of intense tennis match. Joshua smiles.

"Well," he starts pleasantly, clasping his hands together. He winks at Wonwoo, who only continues to blush profusely at the gesture. "Looks like Jeonghan and I won't have to set you up on any more blind dates, Won." Leaning closer, away from Mingyu, he says in a voice too loud to be considered a whisper, "Keep this one. He's awfully attractive."

Mingyu's jaw leaves a dent on the tabletop.

That seems to be enough to shake Wonwoo from his daze. The pink dying from his cheeks, he latches onto Joshua's wrist before the other boy could simply cruelly walk away after the damage he's done. "Hyung," he hisses. Mingyu watches them, at an utter loss for words as he fervently ignores his steadily warming ears. "This isn't what you think it is."

"Oh?" Joshua glances back and forth again. It's enough for Mingyu to want nothing more but the sweet release of death. This is embarrassing. It's too much. All he wanted was that blueberry cheesecake, Jesus Christ. "Then that means- " Wonwoo flashes him a look, one Mingyu fails to catch, and Joshua brings a hand to cover his mouth. His smile peeks through the corners. 

"Okay, then," he says, coughing into his fist. Turning to Mingyu to offer him one last teasing smile, Joshua adds, "It's nice seeing you again, Mingyu. We've heard a lot about you."

Wonwoo looks absolutely mortified as Joshua walks away. Mingyu can't say he looks any better.

He bites at his lip. And then, demands more than asks, "What just happened?"

Groaning, the other boy nearly faceplants into his cake. "I- I don't- He doesn't-" Wonwoo's fumbling with his words now, a crimson tint creeping up his neck. Like the good adult he is, Mingyu decides to take pity on him.

"You know," he starts, in a tone that aims for casual and misses by a thousand miles. Wonwoo doesn't seem to notice, thank God. "I'm starting to think all this was just some creepy way of asking me out."

Wonwoo's head literally _swivels,_ eyes wide as he gapes up at him. He points an accusing finger at Mingyu. "Excuse me? You were the one who called me hot!"

Okay, now that's just unfair. Mingyu feels himself splutter unattractively. "That wasn't- My tongue slipped!"

"Sure it did," Wonwoo scoffs, but there's no denying the way his cheeks flush red. 

Things turn normal after that, or as normal as it can be with Wonwoo not-so-discreetly ducking his head at certain times whenever Mingyu lets out a sinful moan each time he takes a bite of his cake and Joshua occasionally passing by to throw them a knowing smile here and there. Mingyu wonders how much free time the guy has.

When they're done, it's strange. It's strange how Wonwoo grins at him in a way that _doesn't_ get Mingyu's blood vessels bursting. It's strange how Wonwoo offers to walk home together, and Mingyu doesn't decline. It's strange how his heart suddenly wants to turn into Minghao with the way it's somersaulting frantically in his chest every time their fingers brush together.

And, it's most definitely strange how they manage to hold several conversations for a good twenty minutes without wanting to come for each other's throats.

(It could have been just ten minutes, but for some unknown reason, whether intentional or not, Wonwoo chose to take the long way home. Mingyu decides not to point it out.)

There's another couple of things that he learns about his neighbour that day. Like how Wonwoo is scared of dogs, nearly jumping out of his skin and cowering behind Mingyu when someone's dog started running towards them, and how he'd often stop to feed the stray cats around their neighbourhood. 

("What the-" Mingyu had asked, watching in disbelief as the other boy reached for his bag and magically pulled out a can of cat food like it was nothing. "You just carry cat food with you everywhere you go?"

"Yes?" Wonwoo stared at him. "Don't you?")

He also learns that Wonwoo's favourite color is blue, like the way the sky looks right now, and how he'd been dying to get a new camera to practice making films. Mingyu's mouth flew open at the sound of that, and they'd immediately launched into a conversation about filmmaking and movies that he never really got to have with Minghao or Seokmin.

And lastly, Mingyu learns that, well, maybe Wonwoo isn't as awful as he thought.

///

Something isn't right here. Mingyu notices it the moment he steps into the cafeteria.

His friends aren't at their usual table. He scans the crowd, until his eyes land on—

Fuck.

Minghao and Seokmin are seated on the far corner of the room along with four other people, one of them who Mingyu knows things about more than he wants to.

He's just about to turn on his heel and have his lunch in some dingy bathroom stall instead when Minghao's head turns and spots him just standing there in the middle, lunch tray in his hands as he screams obscenities at his friends for betraying him so brutally like this.

Minghao waves him over. Mingyu wants to die.

Grudgingly, he drags himself to the table, avoiding eye contact with everyone who isn't Minghao and Seokmin. He shoots a glare at the two. They simply offer him matching grins in return, and Mingyu wonders what the best possible places are to hide their bodies.

"We're gonna be sitting with them from now on, Gyu," Minghao starts sweetly, and Seokmin nods enthusiastically. Suddenly, Mingyu isn't as hungry anymore.

He tries to conjure up his most pained look, which isn't hard considering the circumstances, silently pleading at the two like _why would you do this to me, oh my God, I thought we were friends._ As if planned, both Minghao and Seokmin ignore him.

"I don't think you've met Soonyoung before though," Seokmin puts in, gesturing at the boy with pretty slanted eyes that Mingyu saw sitting with Wonwoo the other week. Soonyoung does a little wave, lips lifting into a smile, and Mingyu tries his best to smile back. Judging from the snort he hears from Wonwoo, he isn't doing a very good job at it.

Speaking of Wonwoo… 

Mingyu somehow feels himself pale and redden at the same time. He hasn't forgotten about their little… date, for lack of better word, the other day. Which is downright torturous, because the three days he spends trying to prepare for his accounting presentation turns into three days of outrageously thinking back to the pretty way Wonwoo flushes when he's embarrassed, or the way the crumbs of his strawberry cake had stuck at the corner of his lips and Mingyu had to use every ounce of his control to resist the urge to lean over and wipe it with his napkin, to the point where he doesn’t even realize time is still passing. Things are not looking up with regards to that presentation.

Objectively speaking, completely objectively, Wonwoo _is_ pretty cute. Mingyu's not blind. He, although reluctantly, can admit that. Especially now that he's seen a side of the other boy that isn't just plain asshole.

Mingyu glances around the table. Seokmin and Soonyoung have started a conversation in excited, bubbly tones, with Jihoon hissing at the latter to quiet down before they all get kicked out. Junhui and Minghao are, well, being Junhui and Minghao, shamelessly undressing each other with their eyes. He tries not to dwell on them.

Wonwoo, on the other hand, is more than quiet — he looks constipated or something, like maybe he got slapped in the face right before Mingyu came in. 

During a lull in the conversation, Soonyoung reaches over and nudges Wonwoo's arm. They stare at each other, with Wonwoo's face doing a weird flinchy thing. Mingyu's chewing slows. This feels like a trap.

Junhui's hand latches around Mingyu's free wrist. _Definitely a trap._ He's saying something, yet the words seem to fly past Mingyu's ears.

He tries to bring his focus back to the situation at hand. "Sorry, what was that?' he asks. From beside him, Minghao sighs.

"I was just saying," Junhui repeats. There's a wicked glint in his eye. Mingyu's already regretting every second of his decision. "That Wonwoo wants to tell you something."

Wonwoo lifts his head, and looks Mingyu dead in the eye. They’re sitting right across from each other and he watches as the other boy wavers, gaze flitting down just as quick as a light hue starts to sneak up his cheeks.

Another gentle shove from Soonyoung. Wonwoo sighs. “Do you want to like, hang out again sometime?”

“Hang out,” Mingyu repeats. He looks back to Minghao, then at Seokmin, who's nodding at him to accept the damn offer. Are they in on this? “What does that mean, hang out? Hang out how?”

“Like _hanging out,_ Gyu,” Seokmin whispers softly, still smiling.

“I was thinking,” says Wonwoo with a shrug, “We could go and see a movie.”

“That sounds like a date.”

"It _is,"_ Junhui explains excitedly. Wonwoo shoots him a glare, and Junhui seems to falter, although there's that cheeky grin still on his face. "I mean, like a friend date. It would be just the two of you, and you could see the movie this weekend, and afterwards you could get something to eat and chat about it! It'd be like, a learning experience for you both."

"Learning experience, my ass," Wonwoo mutters under his breath. Judging from his sudden yelp, Junhui must have kicked him from under the table.

Mingyu still feels on-guard about this whole thing. He frowns, but he can't ignore the spark of excitement that goes down his spine at the idea. Because, of course, movies are great.

He purses his lips. "What kind of movie?" 

Wonwoo glances at Junhui, who's eyebrows lift. Slowly, he says, "Anything you want."

Mingyu immediately fires off. "Comedy."

"No." He sees Jihoon wince.

"Animation."

"What are you, five?"

Another yelp. Junhui smiles smugly. 

"Horror."

Something in Wonwoo's expression shifts. "What kind of horror?"

"Gore."

"Too disturbing."

Mingyu sighs. "Psychological then?"

Wonwoo hesitates. He pauses in decision, and then, finally, he nods. "Okay."

The agreement hangs between them, unfamiliar and fragile, like it could shatter any moment.

"I don't get how any of you could just go and watch horror like that," Seokmin says, pouting. "I always end up being too scared to go to the bathroom at night for a few months after." But Soonyoung gives him a little head shake, and Seokmin stops.

Mingyu bites the inside of his cheek. "And why aren't any of you coming too?"

Wonwoo throws him a little smirk at that. "Apparently," he starts, "Junhui and Minghao already made plans."

"And," Soonyoung cuts in with a smile, "Jihoon and Seokmin will be coming along with me to watch that animation movie."

Jihoon drops his fork. "We are?"

"Hey, we talked about this already!" Soonyoung whines, and Jihoon sighs, before reaching up and pecking him on the cheek. Soonyoung shuts up.

 _Oh,_ Mingyu thinks stupidly. He didn't know that.

And then he catches Wonwoo's eye from across the table. He's giving him a look, one eyebrow raised, mouth twisted in fond exasperation; it’s a look that says, _let’s just do it. Humor them. Get them off our backs._ Mingyu heaves a sigh, biting back the way his lips quirk upwards in a small, thrilled grin.

“All right,” he says, picking up his chopsticks, because he wants to get on with his meal before the bell rings. “It’s a date, okay?”

///

They both love the horror movie. Like, _love_ it. They spent over an hour in the mall's food court afterwards, raging on about how good the plot was and how the dog didn't deserve to die.

  
  


On the way home, they talk, and it feels nice.

"Your friends are great," Wonwoo is telling him as they walk side-by-side, taking a bite of his frozen yogurt. "Although, Minghao's a bit intimidating."

Mingyu puffs out his cheeks. "Oh, please. You should have seen the guy when we watched Big Hero 6." He shudders a bit at the memory, earning an amused snort from Wonwoo. "He and Seokmin wouldn't stop sobbing, all their tears and snot got into our food. I love those guys to death, but that was just plain traumatizing."

Wonwoo laughs, and the sound is sweet and loud and trickles into his ears like music. Mingyu feels his heart stutter. 

Oh God.

He pushes that thought far, far aside, turning to the boy beside him. "Your friends seem nice, too. Soonyoung and Seokmin hit it off pretty well, and Jihoon's pretty cool."

Wonwoo hums in agreement, staring at the star-littered sky. "Guess you're right. I've known them since elementary. and I swear their personalities barely changed." He glances back to Mingyu then, a grin lighting up his features, and Mingyu can't help the way his stomach twists when he realizes Wonwoo looks a little _too_ pretty at the moment. "Even so, those two always find new ways to come at each other. It's mostly entertaining, but sometimes it just tires me out."

"Really?" Mingyu wonders aloud. "I thought they were, you know, dating."

"They are." Wonwoo scoffs, but it's awfully affectionate. "They're so weird, those two, but they're happy together, so I guess that's what matters. Though I wish they'd stop dragging me to all these parties. I always end up on some dark corner hoping Junhui would sober up so he can just drive me home already."

He doesn't know why Wonwoo's opening up to him like this, but he finds himself not minding it at all. His eyes widen in surprise. "You don't like parties?"

Wonwoo shakes his head, a light huff escaping him. "I'm not like Soonyoung or anything. Hanging out with people I barely know, well… let's just say I have better things to do than that."

Mingyu raises a brow. "But you're hanging out with me though, and you barely know me."

The other boy pauses dead in his tracks at that, nearly dropping his frozen yogurt cup. Mingyu could swear he could make out the faint blush on Wonwoo's cheeks, made clear under the streetlights shining above them.

Making a strained sound somewhere in the back of his throat, Wonwoo says as he starts walking again, clearly avoiding his gaze, "Yeah, well, you're not exactly a stranger either. I mean, I've slept in your room. Hell, I've even seen you in just a towel that one time."

And Mingyu really doesn't know what comes over him then, but he finds himself grinning uncontrollably, prodding at Wonwoo's shoulder. "You still remember that?" he asks teasingly, mouth moving in it's own accord as his mind begs him to stop humiliating himself. "Well, of course, you'd still remember it. I haven't forgotten the way you've ogled my naked chest and-"

He stops when Wonwoo starts picking up his pace, but his smile only continues to grow until it nearly reaches his ears when an embarrassed whine slips from Wonwoo's lips as he ducks his head to the side.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Mingyu calls out, bursting into laughter when Wonwoo spews out curses over his shoulder and renders him unable to stop. Clutching at his stomach, he staggers to catch up with the other boy.

"Can you quit it?" Wonwoo hisses, punching him in the arm. Mingyu pauses, takes one look at him, and bursts into laughter all over again. "H-Hey! Stop it already!" 

Mingyu, through smiling eyes, can see that the other's cheeks have flared up into that lovely crimson hue, his eyes sparkling with accusation, but there's a gleam of fond exasperation as well. It's a bit startling, how fitting the look is on him, how unfairly attractive Wonwoo looks right now, even when-

Shit.

His laughing stops abruptly, falling to the pavement and slinking away. “What is it?” Wonwoo asks, less demanding, more worried.

“A-Ah, nothing. I just had a thought."

Wonwoo snorts, the flush dying down. "Well isn't _that_ new."

His brain — which seems to have crashed somewhere between _Wonwoo_ and _attractive_ — only forces out a slow, sheepish grin.

Wonwoo doesn't seem affected by this at all, going on with the conversation like nothing happened. He starts talking about some film he's seen recently. and Mingyu nods absently, offering thoughtful hums every few sentences while his eyes fixate on Wonwoo's animated expressions and wild hand motions that go up and down and left and right like they’re on some sort of roller coaster. A slight smile dons his lips as he talks, and as small as it is, it somehow manages to brighten up his whole face even more. That is, until Wonwoo trips on a crack on the sidewalk and would have high-fived the pavement with his face if Mingyu didn't react the way he did, catching the other boy by the waist.

"Careful," he mutters. He hopes he isn't blushing. "Just how bad is your eyesight?"

Wonwoo makes a point to look away, clearing his throat as Mingyu brings his arms back to his side. 

"Shut up," he grumbles. Strangely enough, Wonwoo's ears have turned red, and Mingyu counts this as a silent win. A win against what, he isn't too sure. "I don't want to hear this from a guy with the personality of sewage water."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know." Wonwoo breathes it out too quickly. "Everything."

"Why do I have the feeling you don't really mean it?"

"You must have the emotional intelligence of a sock, because you're dead wrong." And then, in a softer voice, "Dumbass."

Mingyu rolls his eyes. "Says the guy who threw a fit while studying for some physics test yesterday because, and I quote, ' _What the fuck does this even mean, oh my God, who even invented physics? Newton mechanics can suck my goddamn dick.'"_ He flashes Wonwoo an innocent smile, who looks utterly horrified, his eyebrows shooting to stratospheric levels in shock. "End quote."

Wonwoo stares at him, eyes wide as his mouth tries to form actual words. Fumbling with his empty yogurt cup, he says, voice tinged with embarrassment, "You heard all that?"

Mingyu winks, and Wonwoo groans into his sweater-covered hands. "Thin walls, remember?"

"I hate you," 

"My pleasure." Another punch to his arm.

They continue like this for a while, maneuvering through detours in hopes of delaying their arrival home, ping-ponging from half-hearted insults to topics like their favourite dramas to the superior ice cream flavour.

When they finally reach their flats, once they've run out of roads to walk on, Wonwoo agrees that next weekend, they can give the animation movie a shot.

Mingyu's unable to sleep that night.

///

"You and Wonwoo seem to be getting along well."

Minghao's whispered voice succeeds in tearing Mingyu's gaze from Wonwoo (who’s smiling and jutting down orders and looking oh-so-attractive) for a few moments. “Hm? Oh, yeah, well, we've finally gotten to talking normally after that movie trip thing."

Their little group of six — along with Junhui, Soonyoung, and Jihoon — are seated around a booth in the far corner of the café, waiting for Wonwoo's lunch break to finally start. Seokmin and Soonyoung are talking in animated tones, with Jihoon throwing in some side comments here and there like _something is terribly wrong with the both of you_ and the occasional fond _dumbasses._ Junhui seems to be engrossed with whatever he's got on his phone, the screen hovering inches away from his nose as he sips the last remains of his coffee. They've all gotten used to hanging out together now, the past few days spent eating cafeteria meals together and lazing around in each other's houses. It was almost strange, how easily they got along just like that, but Mingyu won't complain.

From beside him, he sees Minghao roll his eyes. "It's perfectly fine to call it a date, Gyu. _Trip_ doesn't make it sound as romantic."

"It's not supposed to be romantic!"

Minghao shoots him a sceptic look. "Whatever you say. But from what you told me, your little _trip_ sounded awfully romantic."

He pauses. And then, "I probably shouldn't have told you any of that, huh?"

The other boy nods, slowly patting his back in what Mingyu guesses is some form of consolation, before shushing him and waving over to Wonwoo. He's changed now, in an oversized hoodie and jeans, and he lights up endearingly when he spots them.

 _He’s so cute,_ Mingyu laughs to himself, before coming to his senses. _No, annoying._

He looks at those regretful brown eyes and dark tousled hair. _Okay, maybe both._

Wonwoo easily slides over on the seat beside him, immediately launching into a conversation about this one customer he had earlier today. Mingyu tries to listen, but Wonwoo is so close, his thighs pressed up against his. He could almost smell the faint scent of Wonwoo's skin — a scent that goes straight through him, waking up parts of him that are better left sleeping.

The whole time, Mingyu tries to convince himself that whatever Minghao was implying earlier is most definitely wrong. Just because he looks at Wonwoo sometimes and finds him just the slightest bit pretty does not mean that he’s falling for the asshole. Just because his heart twirls and spins when Wonwoo directs his smile in his general direction, or because he spends most of his classes nowadays thinking back to how Wonwoo's eyes glimmer with laughter when Seokmin says something particularly funny doesn’t, _doesn’t,_ mean anything.

  
  


Fuck.

///

  
  


“Party at Minghao's!” Soonyoung announces one Friday evening, the seven of them having met up outside the café once Wonwoo's shift had ended. Specifically, the Friday two days before Mingyu's birthday. Mingyu is, to say the least, literally bouncing on his heels from excitement.

To his surprise, everyone agrees to the idea immediately (even Jihoon, who seems to regret the decision seconds after he’s made it when Soonyoung and Seokmin start zipping along the parking lot and shouting out loud whoops of joy). And thanks to the wonderful invention of convenience stores, they manage to scavenge together enough food and drinks for it to be somewhat a decent party.

They hurl through Minghao's front door like cannonballs, with Mingyu going in last and placing all their snacks on the table. He joins the others soon after, the rest of them having already situated themselves in the living room. Minghao seems to be showing Jihoon the pictures he's got of the three of them displayed on his shelves, recounting stories like _this right here was taken right after Seokmin fell into a puddle of mud_ and _this was when the three of us decided it was a great idea to play in the rain back in middle school, only for us to be caught with a fever the very next day — you won't believe how mad all our parents got_ and the infamous _this masterpiece of a photo set was taken that beautiful time Mingyu sneezed into Seokmin's hair_. Mingyu finds himself hoping Wonwoo hadn't heard any of that.

Wonwoo himself was hunched over with Junhui, the both of them digging through the litter of games under Minghao's TV. Seokmin and Soonyoung hang back, draped over the couch as the older boy shows Seokmin some new game he's started playing on his phone. 

Soon enough, Wonwoo hobbles over to the table where their mountain of snacks had been deposited, plopping down and ripping open a bag of pretzels. Mingyu finds himself padding after him, with the other boy nearly dropping his pretzel when he sits down beside him.

"Want one?" Wonwoo offers, despite there being at least three other bags of pretzels on the table. Still, Mingyu feels himself nod, reaching over towards the offering hand.

Time pauses for a second when their skin touches. A fleeting feeling of warmth spreads over his face, and Mingyu feels a strange sense of déjà vu.

Tingly, Minghao had described the sensation as, but it's not like that at all. The feeling is almost electric, sending shivers down his spine. Currents seem to travel up and down his body, bringing him to attention and lodging his words in the middle of his throat. A bubbly heat starts in the pit of his stomach and then stretches everywhere, overwhelming his senses. His mouth opens, but for once he can't find anything to say. He can feel his face beginning to turn pink as little firecrackers blossom in her chest. Worst of all, Wonwoo's staring at him, and Mingyu thinks he might die of embarrassment.

Wonwoo slowly lowers his hand after what seems like forever and opens his mouth. Words are on the brink of escaping from his tongue, but just then-

"Hey, Wonwoo! Mingyu!"

Their shoulders go rigid, heads snapping towards the source of the voice. Junhui holds up a bunch of wii controllers and grins wickedly. “Mario Kart?”

  
  


Apparently, Jihoon turns out to be some kind of pro at Mario Kart. He expertly dodges each and every obstacle and then proceeds to leave everyone else choking on dust using a combination of mushrooms and shells that Mingyu doesn't quite get. He's good enough to even get Wonwoo, who claims himself to be some kind of god when it comes to video games, yelling out blasphemies uncharacteristically as Jihoon zips past him. It's fascinating. Mingyu swears it’s black magic.

He munches on a bowl of chocolates, laughing along with the others as Wonwoo falls off a cliff just before the race ends. He gets a full elbow into his ribcage courtesy of Wonwoo at that, but that only succeeds in making him laugh even harder. 

The atmosphere’s starting to wind down into something more mellow and cozy, rather than the frenzied aura that had been floating just minutes before. A shadow of a grin still lingers on Wonwoo's face as he proceeds to pass the controller on to Seokmin, and Mingyu would call it something like art.

This is going to end horribly.

He takes a deep breath, and taps Wonwoo's shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Mingyu asks, gesturing to Minghao's balcony.

Wonwoo stares at him questioningly for one, long second, and Mingyu's starting to get the sinking feeling that the other boy is going to flat-out reject him and stay seated on the couch when he nods, slowly getting up and unraveling himself from Jihoon's limbs.

He leads the both of them out into the terrace as subtly as he can, making sure to draw the curtains from behind him. It's a bit small, and there's a whole rack of Minghao's clothes drying out from a few feet away from them, but the fresh night air breezes by and the stars twinkle encouragingly in the dark expanse of the sky, and Mingyu mentally congratulates himself for picking out a nice spot.

Well. Here goes nothing.

Wonwoo's smiling. "What's up, birthday boy?"

"Please don't ever call me that ever again."

Shifting his feet, Wonwoo leans over the railing and glances up at him. “So what is it? What do you have to tell me that you couldn't say so inside?”

"I-" Mingyu hesitates, before realizing there's no backing out now and he'd just have to suck it up and bulldoze his way through. "I just wanted to thank you. And apologize."

"For what?"

"For, you know," he cringes, cursing his sudden lack of communication skills. "I _was_ being quite a dick when we first met, so I wanted to apologize for that, because I realized I never did. And I wanna thank you too, for being here tonight."

A lopsided smirk starts to creep on Wonwoo's face. Mingyu wants to punch him. And maybe also smash his lips against his. "I mean, that's what friends do, right?"

Mingyu wonders when exactly they've become _friends,_ and when he started wishing they were more than that. He swallows down the growing lump in his throat. "Yeah. Friends."

 _Just do it already_ , a voice in his head says. It sounds an awful lot like Minghao. _Kiss him, you coward. What are you so afraid of?_

 _Gee, I don't know,_ Mingyu retorts back… to himself. He must be going insane. _He could end up being absolutely disgusted by me. Or he might not even like guys. Or he could laugh in my face. The possibilities are endless._

But his body compels him to act. It's almost like instinct, how he leans down ever so slightly and his face inches forward and ghosts over Wonwoo's beautiful flushed skin for a fraction of a second before finally, _finally_ landing and-

It’s far from perfect. It’s clumsy, and their noses bump and Wonwoo's glasses end up getting in the way, and Mingyu's starting to think he should have drank a few glasses of water or popped a few mints into his mouth before this because he's certain his breath smells like the milk chocolate he had earlier, but _still._ He can feel every bump and ridge of Wonwoo's lips on his, so extremely intoxicating and warm and just slightly chapped, but their mouths seem to match anyway and it just somehow feels _right._

Mingyu's an absolute trainwreck. His whole mind is a horrible, devastating trainwreck. 

He breaks away first, trying to force oxygen into his malfunctioning lungs while attempting to stammer out futile explanations at the same time. “I- I'm sorry- Fuck, I don't- I should have _asked-_ ”

Wonwoo blinks for a few seconds, a stunned expression on his face as scarlet starts to paint his cheeks. Mingyu's a breath away from thinking it's the prettiest thing he's ever seen when the other boy grabs the collar of his shirt, effectively cutting off his next words. 

"You dumbass," is all he mutters.

And he presses their lips together.

It isn't perfect, but it _feels_ like perfect. And Mingyu finds his hands going down to the small of Wonwoo's back, bringing him closer, their damned clothes the only things keeping their heated skin separated. A soft whine slips from Wonwoo's lips, and Mingyu wants to swallow the sound whole.

They pull apart at the same time, chests heaving and shirts rumpled, but there's a matching grin on both their faces and Mingyu counts this as another win.

"I'm really, _really_ happy you just did that," Wonwoo whispers, and Mingyu feels his smile reach his eyes. But then the other boy points to what must be the window behind them, and Mingyu blinks in confusion. "But we probably should have been a bit more careful."

He turns his head to follow Wonwoo's hand, and lets out a shriek so high-pitched he feels himself redden in shame.

Again, it's like déjà vu.

The curtains have been spread wide open ( _when_ this happened, Mingyu doesn't want to know), and their friends have their faces peering into the glass, their expressions varying from amused little smirks (Jihoon and Minghao, those smug bastards) to full-blown grins (Seokmin). Junhui and Soonyoung seem to be wolf-whistling, and it's outright embarrassing and Mingyu thinks his face might explode from how red it feels, but with Wonwoo giggling and snorting softly from beside him, he thinks it's something more than beautiful.

Minghao yanks the balcony door open then, the light from the living room flooding in. "I win," he declares triumphantly.

It takes longer than it should for Mingyu to connect the pieces together, still in a sort of haze from literally having just kissed Wonwoo, but it's made obvious when everyone groans and reaches for their wallets after Minghao's announcement. By the time he _does_ piece two and two together, Wonwoo has already dragged him back into the house, cheeks tinted a bright pink while failing to hide the ridiculously big smile he's got on his face.

(Mingyu laughs it off, but he's sure he looks even worse.)

///

On Mingyu's birthday, they go out to see that animation movie.

And if he not-so-accidentally brushes over Wonwoo's hands when he reaches for their shared popcorn, or nestles himself on Wonwoo's shoulder, or if their lips find each other in the darkness of the theatre like it's second nature, then no one has to know.

**Author's Note:**

> (soon after the movie wonwoo borrows mingyu's phone wondering if he has any games and stumbles upon the pic of him bent over-
> 
> chaos ensues.)
> 
> well ,,, that's a wrap !! please leave kudos + comments on the slight chance you enjoyed this fic :))
> 
> also you can find me on insta as @tsukkuidward (my second acc lmao) if anyone wants to talk :'D


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